The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for cleaning the fluid flow path in a conduit. The present invention may be utilized to clean drain lines in any application, whether commercial or residential, and is not necessarily limited to sewage systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for clearing a build-up in a trap within a drainage system which may be impeding the flow of fluid from the system discharge.
In most drainage systems, traps are provided catch or collect materials passing through the system. In commercial and residential plumbing systems, traps are used to capture items falling into the drain, so that they do not pass directly through the drain line and into the main sewer system. They are also intended to block sewer gas bleed back into the building. However, the traps often accumulate excessive amounts of debris and build-up blocking the drainage flow through the system.
Numerous devices have been utilized to avoid the problems associated with removing the trap to clean or clear the build-up. Such devices include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,306,925; 2,610,696; 3,783,457; 3,872,521; 4,893,361; and 5,038,816. The existing devices are cumbersome and ineffective. Many of these “solutions” create other problems for the user, including actually interfering with the drainage flow when not in operation. Any device which restricts the full volume flow through the bight of a trap when not in use potentially will cause more problem than it solves.
The present invention allows the user to rotate a cleaning member through the trap bight without removing the trap from connected plumbing and to position the cleaning member such that the full volume flow through the bight diameter is not restricted when the cleaning member is not being rotated. The present invention may be manually operated or attached to a sensor system to periodically rotate the cleaning member either based simply on a selected time interval or dependent upon pressure or flow rate characteristics within the drain system.
While the present invention is described and illustrated in a preferred embodiment within a plumbing/sewer environment, it will be understood that the present invention could be adapted for use in industrial situations where product in a pipeline periodically may need to be flushed or wiped from the pipeline. In such situations, the present invention is not intended to function as a trap, but rather as an inline cleaning or clearing apparatus.